BGL Advises Employees Only in its Sale to America’s Back Office

Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (BGL) is pleased to announce the sale of Employees Only, Inc. (Employees Only or the Company) to America’s Back Office (ABO), a Michigan-based professional employer organization (PEO). BGL’s Business Services team served as the exclusive financial advisor to Employees Only. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Cliff Sladnick, Head of BGL’s Professional Services practice, led the engagement with Employees Only. Sladnick’s experience in the PEO industry spans over a decade, having previously served as an executive officer at Gevity HR, then the largest PEO in the country. Commenting on the transaction, Sladnick said, “The acquisition of Employees Only by ABO is a great example of an in-market PEO combination that will be very beneficial to both companies and their clients.”

Founded in 1996 and based in Rochester, Michigan, Employees Only provides human resource outsourcing solutions through a combination of PEO and ASO services. The Company offers a comprehensive suite of HR consulting and compliance, employee benefits, workers’ compensation, and payroll / tax administration services for clients in over 20 states.

Mario Apruzzese, CEO and Founder of Employees Only, said, “I have been working with Cliff Sladnick for over 10 years as I considered the best strategic alternatives for Employees Only. Besides exhibiting great patience, Cliff has always demonstrated great knowledge of the PEO market, as well as given me objective and sage advice. Once we committed to this partnership with America’s Back Office, the full BGL team demonstrated great commitment in order to get this transaction structured, negotiated, and completed in a very effective manner.”

Headquartered in Sterling Heights, Michigan, America’s Back Office handles all aspects of employee administration including human resource management, payroll, employee benefits, labor law, and workplace safety and risk management. With the addition of Employees Only, the combined company will now be one of the largest PEOs based in the state of Michigan.

“Throughout this process with Employees Only, Cliff Sladnick and the BGL investment banking team were critical to ABO’s execution of this deal. I look forward to pursuing other PEO opportunities that BGL can bring to ABO,” said Dave Otto, President and Founder of America’s Back Office.